Brotzeit (Katong)

Everytime we walked past Brotzeit, we would get a whiff of something fragrant- the smell of roasted meat. 

We couldn't resist it further and went in for some German food.

It is not possible for us to enter a restaurant serving German food, without trying their pork knuckle. We ordered the Schweinshaxn (Oven Roasted Pork Knuckle) ($36). We didn't know the portion size when ordering - this is definitely good enough for 2 / 3 to share. You thought you knew the best char siew siew yok stall- the one that served the crispy skin. Wait till you try this dish. Listen to the crisp sound of the skin fall apart as your teeth sinks into skin. The skin was the star of the show. Accompanied with potatoes and sauerkraut, your carbohydrate and fibre requirements are satisfied as well.

I also ordered a Nurnberger (Grilled Pork Sausages) ($18). The sausages were average and didn't leave a deep impression on me. It became a bit of a chore trying to finish all 5 sausages.

A nice place to chill- remember to get the pork knuckle!

Brotzeit
126 East Coast Road
Tel No: 6348 7050 

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Simplicite Cafe

I have been to Simplicite Cafe twice, once after eating at the nearby Al Forno, and the other after a meal at Beach Road Prawn Mee. Both times, the place was relatively empty with only a table or two being occupied. 

Clean with minimalist decor, this place is an ideal location to spend your afternoon just talking about life. You should check their facebook page for their opening hours though- it seems that their opening hours change frequently.

We ordered a Waffle with 1 scoop of ice cream ($8.50). The passion fruit ice cream was not too sweet and contained the little bits of passion fruit seeds. To up the fun factor, they have a mysterious flavour for you to guess- no prizes even if you guess correctly though! This waffle is definitely one of the better ones- my benchmark is Gelare's waffle. Rewind more than 10 years ago when cafes were not selling waffles, Gelare's waffles was a rare treat then. This waffle is comparable to Gelare's.

Service here was warm and sincere. I only hope that they last long enough because the foot traffic here seems pretty low.

Simplicite Cafe 
425 East Coast Road
Singapore 429012
Tel No: 6440 9148 

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Beach Road Prawn Mee Eating House

Prawn Mee is something that few stalls can do right. Ever so often, a prawn noodle craving hits and off we go hunting for a good bowl of slurp-worthy prawn noodles. 

According to The Business Times, the boss is one of the highest-earning hawkers, reportedly earning up to $139,200 a month. The popularity of this place was evident on a Sunday afternoon where the place had hardly an empty seat. 

I got the Prawn Noodles with Pork Ribs ($5.80). I always enjoy a good robust stock like this, and the only place where we tried a stock as good was at Blanco Court Prawn Mee. Prawn mees often leave me disappointed for the lack in depth of flavour.

The prawn mee served at Beach Road Prawn Mee and Blanco Court Prawn Mee were equally good and I was hard pressed to decide which was better. Served with one fresh prawn sliced into two, the pork ribs were tender although my friend found some pieces a little too tough.

If you get irritated with houseflies, this is not the place to be. There were a lot of flies hovering while we were eating. Service was also lacking. When I was standing in the queue, instead of asking me to move one side, the waiter simply nudged me with a tray to move aside. For service, Blanco Court anytime.

There was a ngoh hiang stall within the compounds and we decided to get some to round the meal off. 

Beach Road Prawn Mee Eating House
370 East Coast Road
Tel No: 6345 7196 

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JC Coffee Houzz

It was Sunday evening and only one table in this cafe was occupied. Now, I've got a real issue with the word "Houzz"- it sounds too secondary school to be used as part of a cafe name! Those days where "z" was added behind every single word. However, other than that, this is a place I hope will make it somehow. 

A very cosy interior with space big enough for to host gatherings. I may be biased, but I really liked this place also for the music that was playing. Once I heard the first few songs, I declared, WHOEVER CHOSE THE SONGS HAS THE SAME MUSIC TASTE AS ME. Field of Gold, Because of You, Close to You etc. That instantly bumped up my liking for this place.

We were there after dinner so we didn't try their main courses. This cafe offers a wide variety of food- dim sum, Western food etc.

We settled for a Waffle with Double Scoop Ice Cream ($10.80). The waffle was a little too hard and was lacking the eggy fragrance of good waffles. Lychee ice cream was a tad on the sweet side but the salted caramel was fine.

There is potential for this place to grow in this sleepy neighbourhood. And I hope it makes it. Going back one day to try the main courses!

JC Coffee Houzz
149 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427427
Tel No: 8161 0149

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Mis en Place

I googled and found out that Mise en place means "putting in place", and is used in professional kitchens to refer to organising and arranging the ingredients.

While wandering in the East Coast area last week, we decided to drop by here because the set meal looked pretty worth it. We ordered a three course lunch set at $18.

Ahh what did I say about liking eateries that have interesting quotes on their walls!

For our first course, we got a Mushroom Soup. The lady (whom I presume is the lady boss) told us that it's without cream but still has the creamy flavour to it. Now, that sounds slightly intriguing. When it came, it was just as she described. Although it tasted slightly dilute because of the lack of cream to add to the thick texture of the soup, it was light on the tastebuds and the mushroom flavours were spot on.

For the main course, I ordered the Chicken Milanese which was breaded chicken leg stuffed with mushrooms. The crispy chicken was juicy and the stuffed mushrooms was an interesting addition to the chicken leg.

I also tried the Tilapia Fish & Chips which wasn't that great because it was a little dry. Anyone well-versed in doing fish and chips- what is the best fish to use? My understanding is that haddock / halibut is quite often used, but not sure if the type of fish affects the final product.

For dessert, we had Stollen with ice cream even though Christmas is over!

Food was decent, wait for food was a little long. Service very friendly.

Mis En Place
39 East Coast Road
Tel No: 6 345 8381 

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Penny University

The East Coast stretch is one of my favourite places in Singapore- not only because there's plenty of good food here but also because there's an eclectic blend of the new and the old and you get to see beautiful architecture in this area. 

There are very few brunch places in the East and Penny University stands out because it's affordable and the food is good. 

There was a pretty large lunch turnout and the place can be a little cramped. Other than that, some retro elements in this place coupled with a comfy setting.

If you have a look at their menu, you will realise that their menu options are a lot cheaper than other brunch places. I had the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon ($12) which consists of poached eggs on sourdough toasts, hollandaise sauce drizzled over the eggs and smoked salmon. Apparently, there's supposed to be chilli jam as well- but this was not spicy at all. I had a nice time wiping this dish clean- poached eggs were done beautifully, salmon was fresh and bread was delightful.

The desserts display were pretty insane- such beautiful homely looking desserts! Croissants, little tarts, mint chocolate pie, carrot walnut cake etc. But this humble looking French Apple Cake ($5.50) appealed to me. This cake was not too sweet as many apple cakes tend to be and the baker didn't skimp on the apples as well- every bite had apple slices in it.

A very good option for brunch in the East, service was average.

Penny University
402 East Coast Road
Tel No: 9008 9314 

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